All-Poly Partyers
The event: Ring My Bell, a ‘70s disco bash that had guests boogeying in bell bottoms, miniskirts and psychedelic polyester at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. The Friday night fever was staged by the Corporate Council of Education 2000 to raise money to help prevent teen pregnancies.
Disco inferno: About 300 party-goers, who’d been encouraged to wear “fashionably loud disco” clothing, showed up sporting ‘70s retro threads: hip-huggers, leisure suits and at least one polyester shirt unbuttoned to reveal a tacky gold medallion. Darcy Lee, co-chair- woman, came as Roller Girl from “Boogie Nights,” careening through the crowd on roller skates. “A lot of us went to every thrift store looking for something to wear,” Lee said.
After dinner, guests shook it up to the disco sound of the Polyesters. “We wanted an event that would attract a younger crowd and bring new energy to Education 2000,” explained Teddie Ray, event co-chairwoman.
Common cause: Education 2000, a support group of Planned Parenthood’s teen services, aims to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy. The group’s Corporate Council was formed last fall by about a dozen Orange County companies, most in the surf/skate/snow industries, which sell to the same young people the educational programs are trying to reach.
“This is a cause that affects their customer base,” Ray said. The council’s goal: to provide answers to teens’ questions about reproductive health through a toll-free hotline, peer counseling and educational programs.
Quote: “A lot of teens have questions about things you’d think they should know,” said Jaclyn Duarte, an 18-year-old teen advocate from Mission Viejo who counsels her peers about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. “They haven’t been taught, and people don’t know how to tell them.”
Faces: Renee Chong; Rick and Denise Erkeneff; Jill Lockhart; Laura McArdell; Wende Zomnir; Maia Huckeba; Jenny Ostrander; Franci Ramynke; and Ann Smyth.
Bottom line: The bash was expected to net about $34,000 for Education 2000. Proceeds will go to peer counseling and outreach programs.
Ring their bell: Information about Education 2000: (714) 973-1733.
